Sow" Essay
Silvia Plath's "Sow" is an interesting and valuable
poem to read, study, and enjoy, because it shows how two
characters can have much different views of the same
thing, which is in this case a farmer's sow. The poem's
speaker (who may be another neighbor, a relative, or
friend) thinks of the pig (sow) with awe, viewing it as an
incredible, huge, strong, prize-worthy hog that could
become a perfect feast fit for a king. (Paraphrase.) The
neighbor, a farmer who presumably owns and raised the
sow, has much different feelings towards his pig. He is
very humble about it, thinking of it as nothing more than an
ordinary pig, nothing great or unusual, and hiding it from
the public eye. The narrator's and the neighbor's ideas
towards the pig are shown through diction, sound,
imagery, and allusions.
Diction such as "hulk", "monument", "legend", and
"bulk" show the narrator's opinion of the sow, namely, the
sow's amazing size, power, and overall greatness. In a
parallel and yet contrasting way, words such as
"impounded", "barrel nape", and "pig" demonstrate to the
reader how the neighbor views his sow humbly, hides it
from public view, and thinks of it as nothing more than a
common pig.
The sound of words used in this poem also adds to the
reader's cognizance of the differences in viewpoint
between the narrator and the neighbor. For example,
"heckling" and "crackling" utilize end rhyme to help bring to
mind the narrator's view of the pig's greatness, by saying it
is no ordinary pig; In the poem, these words are used
together in this context to make the speaker's point. "[This
was no] dolt pig ripe for heckling, about to be glorified for
prime flesh and golden crackling… No, this vast
Brobdingnag bulk…" Although the two aforementioned
words could be looked at as just words describing what
the pig is not like, they also rhyme, therefore utilizing
sound. They draw together and connect different aspects
of the behavior, and, well, taste, of other pigs, by rhyming
the words together. Then the narrator sharply shifts the
poem's subject from other pigs to the farmer's sow, swiftly
contrasting the "hulk" of other pigs to the "bulk" of this
particular sow. In a similar way to the first pair of rhyming
words mentioned, "hulk" and "bulk" tie together the
description of other sows to the new description of this, the
neighbor farmer's sow. Working together with this pair of
rhyming words, the one-word sentence "No." in line 23
gives the reader a 'knife-sharp' change of focus, towards
the neighbor farmer's supposedly amazing hog of a sow.
The narrator is being very persuasive, in terms of getting
the reader to also view the sow in this way.
In addition to diction and sound, imagery shows the
contrasting opinions towards the pig that are held by the
narrator and the neighbor. "Brobdingnag bulk", "vision of
ancient hoghood", and "[prodigious] monument" call to
mind visions of marvelous, gigantic, proud things, all in the
name of demonstrating the narrator's view of awe and
greatness to the reader, and persuading the reader to
view the sow in the same way. Imagery is also used to
show the neighbor's opinion towards his sow, through
images like "barrel nape" and "green-copse-castled". The
neighbor farmer, as has been prior stated, doesn't try to
elevate his pig to a high and great place of admiration and
glory, unlike the narrator. The farmer thinks of his sow as
none other than an average, everyday pig, and nothing
more.
Finally, allusions are used in this poem to connect the
sow to other, unlike things. In line five, the pig is said to be
"impounded". This could possibly be an allusion to an
impounded automobile or other vehicle. Both the sow and
an impounded vehicle are out of the public's view, and
cannot be viewed, enjoyed, or "used". Another allusion is
"ancient hoghood", in line 28. This allusion compares and
connects the sow to the savage, wild hogs (boars) which
have been fought by humans for thousands of years,
whether on a small Pacific Island or in the myths of
Ancient Greece. Historically, boars were feared and yet
treasured; when a boar was killed by the hunters, all the
people would celebrate the occasion and the feast. This
allusion shows the speaker's view that the sow is a very
special thing, and should be treasured and celebrated, like
a hog from the days of antiquity. The last and final
allusion, in the final two lines of this poem, says that the
sow (paraphrase) "drank the seven oceans and all the
continents". This is a very strong allusion, comparing a pig
eating kitchen slops to it eating and drinking the entire
Earth's surface. Like the previous allusions, this one
shows the narrator's view that the sow is massive, great,
and incredible.
The narrator's and neighbor's contrasting views and
opinions towards the sow are made apparent to the reader
through Plath's skillful utilization literary 'features',
including diction, sound, imagery, and allusions. Through
these techniques, the reader clearly sees how the narrator
views the sow as an incredible, huge, strong creature that
should be celebrated, and how the farmer neighbor thinks
of the sow humbly, as a regular pig and nothing more, as
'nothing to write home about'.